My Slim-Down, Get-Glowing Detox

Forget juice cleanses. This eat-as-much-as-you-want diet promises weight loss and clear skin. But did it work?

The Results In the days since ending "Gutbliss," I'm finding myself reaching for things that qualify as "food" under Dr. Chutkan's specifications. Instead of pancakes, I'm having fruit, and instead of fries, I'm having a side of avocado. While it's kind of annoying to eat out with me now (I order like Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally"), I feel so much better after all of my meals. But since I know everyone likes a good before and after, here are my official results:

Height: 5'6" (still)

Weight: 130. I'm down five pounds, which is a lot for 11 days. In fact, I'd be concerned if I wasn't so ... um, ecstatic.

Energy Level: I eat in the mornings now, so I'm not completely famished and near fainting by lunch. This, and exercise, has made a significant difference in how I feel on an hour-by-hour basis. I still get the doldrums around 3 p.m., but I think that's normal. Sometimes it's hard to drag myself that extra 500 feet to the gym, but I never regret it once I'm there.

Skin: You guys, this is the best part. I have not had any breakouts since starting the diet 11 days ago. I can't stop looking at myself in the mirror. I've stopped feeling like I've been caught with my pants down when someone sees me without makeup. In fact, I've stopped wearing makeup. Since it's only been 11 days, I can't say for sure whether this will last, but my skin looks better than it has in three months. You can't argue with that.

I know this is ending like most write ups of detox diets -- "Honestly I just feel so much better and OMG I LOST FIVE POUNDS" -- but I do. Listen, I wouldn't lie to you. If this "diet" totally sucked and did nothing for me, I would go right back to eating cheese and Snickers bars. And occasionally, I probably will. But since it wasn't really a "diet" by most standards, and instead made me really think about the food I eat, it changed the way I approach nutrition. Plus, there's no gimmick with this diet. No $9 juices to buy, no special supplement powders to take. All this diet required of me was to switch out my overly-processed, convenient food with stuff that actually contains vitamins and nutrients. Once I got used to it, I started to crave the real stuff, which had been missing from my diet for a long time. And I really think that simple switch has done (and will continue to do) a lot for my health and skin, which is why I feel compelled to share it.

When I was interviewing Dr. Chutkan, she mentioned that there was an element of girl power behind writing this book. "I saw so many women, day after day, who were lovely and beautiful and bright, and they said their doctor told them they were having health problems because they were stressed. Women were constantly being told that they couldn't have bowel movements, or they were losing their hair, because they were stressed. I said, 'You don't look stressed to me.' We don't have to rely on fat, older, balding male physicians to tell us what's wrong. This book is about putting the power back into the hands of women."